Best Quote I Heard All Day
Any pitcher who throws at a batter and deliberately tries to hit him is a communist.--Alvin Dark, former baseball coach

Yeah, the Red Sox have a commie pitcher.

Rain postponed the game tonight, which is why I'm writing the blog. It's October, and knitting and watching baseball go hand-in-hand.

I Don't Think, Therefore I Knit...a Scarf
So after all the comments about the Gallery of Ghastlies, I gave the entire philosophy of taste some serious consideration. And the schools of knitting as I see them.

Here's what I believe: There are three main schools of knitting philosophy. The Good. The Bad. The Fugly.

Let's work backwards. The Fugly were well represented in the Gallery and at Stitches East. The Fugly School of Knitting can take a perfectly acceptable, tasteful design and make it into something that Hannibal Lecter wouldn't eat for dinner. It would seem that the Fuglies enjoy taking liberties with Kaffe Fassett's creations. And I would include certain designers who play into the Fugly School, such as the Tiny Diva.

I mean, dressed as Miss America in a knitted pink frou-frou gown, so I hear? Um, that's fugly.

The Bad. Well, I would say that Celebrity Scarves, Daryl Hannah, and every eyelash yarn on the market epitomize this school. The Bad School of Knitting members never learn how to do anything beyond constant garter stitch, using same to make long novelty scarves and garter stitch warshcloths. And aren't much interested in going past garter stitch. Except in recent months, with the publication of Melville's garter stitch extravaganza. In fact, the single most popular garment made by most members of the Bad School of Knitting is probably the Einstein Coat.

The Good. The members who subscribe to this school are generally serious about learning what they can, eschew novelty yarns, and may or may not be traditionalists, insofar as they learn all the traditional techniques and stitch patterns. Mostly, they're fearless knitters who are itching to try something new.

So what's worse? The Bad? or the Fugly? I'd have a hard time choosing.

One thing I do know. The Bad and the Fugly will never go away. There will always be people who think that garter stitch swing jackets are the height of fashion and knitting expertise. Too bad because they'll never know what they're missing.

Have I ever made a Fugly garment? You bet. In 1974, when I had no money, I made a ribbed coat from acrylic. In aqua. It was supposed to have been done in Donegal Tweed. I didn't have the money, but I wanted to make the coat.

I never wore it. It was fugly. And I knew it was going to be fugly all the while I knit it.

The lesson was well learned. Never did that again. I saved for the good stuff.

Vague Knitting Holiday Issue
Saw it online. What a dog. Enough said.

IK Winter Issue
Saw the garments at Stitches. This looks to be a good issue. I'm not sure when it's due out but based on what I saw, it would seem that IK is rising from the ashes a bit.

Well, gang, it's been a long week. Still unpacking books, although the Wall of Knitting Shit is almost done. The magazine collection alone is scary. And I don't have complete sets of everything. However, I keep finding more boxes of magazines and patterns.

It's so rare and handy to find a Vogue Knitting issue from 1968.